


Long Distance Operator

by SBG



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Community: kissemdanno, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-29
Updated: 2013-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-06 21:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/740337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SBG/pseuds/SBG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve meets Danny's mom. They get along great. She has motives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Distance Operator

The first time it happened, Steve thought it was a fluke. 

He’d remembered Danny one day asking to borrow his phone, stating his was on the fritz or something, and he hadn’t hesitated, simply tossed his partner his phone and carried on with whatever he’d been doing. It made some sense, then, that when Naomi Williams claimed she had hit redial several days later, her call had gone to Steve instead of her son. She hadn’t been fazed by the accidental dial one bit, her warm laughter like music in his ears and just like that, he’d been charmed. 

Somehow or another, he’d spent the better part of an hour having a discussion with Danny’s mother as if he’d known her for years. They had talked about sports and the weather and whether or not it was appropriate to use both butter and peanut butter on a PB&J. She had informed him that under no circumstances should butter be on that bread; on plain jelly, however, it was recommended. He’d been bewildered by the whole thing and also, by the end, hungry for a sandwich he hadn’t eaten since he was a kid. He’d made himself one – sans butter – and it had been delicious, but he wondered if it would have tasted better if Mrs. Williams had made it for him.

The ability to elicit near-instant affection out of strangers appeared to be a strong genetic trait in the Williams family.

H50

There was no real pattern of frequency he could discern, not that he tried very hard, just every once in a while his phone would ring and Mrs. Williams would ask him how his days were going. Steve knew they had to be at least partly planned events. She had to know the time in Hawai’i versus the time in New Jersey and usually called him when he was off duty, early in the morning or late at night. It confused him to no small degree, why she was doing going out of her way to speak with him, but he never worked up the nerve to ask.

And, if he were going to be honest, he didn’t want the calls to end and chose to not risk that asking would make her stop. He’d learned at a young age to not take gifts for granted and enjoy them while they lasted; he wanted this one to keep going for as long as possible. Talking with Mrs. Williams about any random subject made him feel good, and he couldn’t even pinpoint exactly how. The closest he could get was that speaking to her simply felt like getting a warm, soft hug each time and he would dare anyone to blame him for not wanting to give that up. As they got more comfortable, she insisted he call her Naomi. He couldn’t do anything but comply. 

Not taking no for an answer also appeared to be a strong genetic trait.

H50

By some unspoken agreement, neither of them told Danny about their calls, which only worked for a short time. Danny was a first rate detective, after all, and his mother was not terribly good at filtering. She slipped after only the fourth call, mentioning to Danny something he hadn’t told her but only Steve also knew. If Steve expected ranting and raving about personal boundaries and strict orders to cease and desist from Danny, he was disappointed. To his relief, actually, his partner didn’t seem upset about it. In fact, Danny took the news with something akin to gentle approval, a smile and a lingering clap to Steve’s shoulder. It was almost as if he’d known all along.

“Remember what I said about your problems being my problems?” Danny said, eyes sparkling with humor. “Well, there you go. The reverse is also true. I have no issue with sharing, babe.”

“Your mom’s great, Danno,” Steve said, his throat tight as he thought of his own mother and at the way Danny’s grip tightened as though he could read Steve’s mind. “She’s not a problem.” 

“I love my mother more than life itself.” Danny spread a hand across his chest and looked innocent. “But I also know her a lot better than you do. Please heed my advice and take everything she says with a grain of salt. She has a flair for the dramatic, and that’s only the half of it.”

Steve had already figured out that exact trait Danny possessed had come directly from Naomi. It probably wouldn’t be a secret to anyone that he had come to the conclusion he liked Danny’s mom for most of the same reasons he liked Danny.

H50

“I miss him every day.” Naomi sighed heavy and long into the receiver. “Him and Matty both, but – and this is not something you need to share – Danny just a bit more. Maybe it’s because Danny’s life has been filled with noble decisions and Matty, well, nobility has never been in his nature. A mother’s not supposed to play favorites.”

Steve closed his eyes, remembered that whole fiasco with Matt and spared a thought for the guy’s health and safety, but also a few less kind, for the pain he’d caused his family. He didn’t really know what to say, though. This was the first time Naomi had been anything but ebullient, though he couldn’t blame her. He imagined what his life would be like now, if Danny were to leave, and he didn’t like it. 

“It’s difficult not to with Danny,” Steve said.

“Yes. You understand.”

“But you guys Skype, yeah?”

“With him and with Grace,” Naomi said. “It’s just not the same as being able to wrap my arms around either of them. She’s an angel and he’s my boy.”

This was also one of the rare times she spoke with him about Danny. Steve felt like he knew her well enough now to sympathize with her on an almost intimate level. Her pain affected him. And it was all a bit of a revelation to him, these deep-rooted feelings. He wasn’t accustomed to such a close family, considering the mess his was. Danny would say this was an example of his emotional shortcomings, and he supposed that was true, but it had never been that he’d lacked those emotions himself.

“I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better,” Steve said, injecting as much overt sincerity into his tone as he could, so Naomi would be able to hear it. 

Naomi paused for a several beats. 

“Actually, you might be able to do something for me, if you’re willing.”

H50

“What the hell, McGarrett?” Danny shouted, but the volume was inhibited by the way his face was mashed against Steve’s chest.

Steve squeezed tighter, having anticipated just such a reaction. They’d done this before, but there had always been some significant lead-up, and it had been more of a mutual need to unleash feelings of relief. This one was just Steve, bear-hugging. Other than having to keep his hold nice and strong, hugging Danny wasn’t a chore. When Danny wriggled his arms free and slid them around Steve’s back, it was even better. 

“It’s from your mom,” Steve said. “She misses you.”

Nearly all of the tension drained out of Danny and he settled into the hug, squeezed Steve back. It felt like Naomi’s calls had come to life, except that soft, warm hug-like feeling was so much better in real time. Some people were built for hugging, and Danny was one of them. Not that Steve would ever tell him that. 

Too soon, Danny pulled away.

“I warned you,” Danny said, jabbing a finger into Steve’s chest. “When you figure out her end game – and there always is one – you remember that I warned you about her.”

H50

He’d managed to get tomato sauce all over the front of his apron, and was glad he’d taken Naomi’s advice to wear one. Steve wasn’t a half bad cook when he allowed himself the time and the recipe was fairly simple, but something about the preparation was giving him fits.

“Are you sure I couldn’t have just used canned?” Steve asked.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that, young man,” Naomi said, smiling. “You don’t cook from the heart with _canned goods_.”

Steve was fairly sure everyone on the Food Network would disagree with that.

“But I’m no…”

“Anh, don’t say it. You are if for no other reason you’re my proxy. And you’re doing just fine. This will make Danny miss home less. You said he’s been down lately.”

Steve shot a doleful look at the laptop and Naomi’s kind face watching him with deceptively eagle eyes. He never should have agreed to do this over Skype. He could have gotten away with canned tomato sauce without a captive audience. Not for the first time, he thought about ‘accidentally’ cutting off their connection. Not for the first time, a pang of guilt accompanied the idea. Damn Williamses and their damned tendency to burrow under a person’s skin. 

“He has been. He goes through phases when he’s just unbearable to be around,” Steve said, which was true on the surface. 

“Oh, believe me, I know. And yet, somehow…”

The goofy grin was automatic, and it was nice to see a similar one on Naomi’s face. 

“Once the sauce is done, think you can handle the rest of it on your own tomorrow?” Naomi yawned. “It’s the middle of the fucking night here, and I need sleep.”

“Naomi!”

“Don’t sound so scandalized, Steven,” Naomi said with a chuckle. “As a sailor, you’ve had to have heard worse.”

“But not from my mo…” Steve cut himself off before he said it, turned his face away from the computer screen.

“Oh, honey.”

The tips of his ears burned, strangely embarrassed. He focused his attention to the sauce, stirring it furiously. Naomi took the cue, walked him through the rest of the process, until he was sure he couldn’t mess it up. He was grateful for her discretion and guidance.

Danny’s speechless astonishment when he figured out the steaks on the grill and beer he’d been invited over for was actually the _braciole_ recipe his mom used made the labor involved in recreating the dish totally worth it.

The voluntary hug wasn’t such a bad pay-off, either.

H50

He noticed that since Naomi had begun calling him, he slept better at night. Even if her calls came in at midnight or later. His whole being filled with that warm hug feeling, he slept like a proverbial baby, and not just on the nights she called. He wasn’t about to define the whys and hows. Like he’d said, gifts were to be treasured, but he had to wonder about a few things. Mostly, that if Danny had had this his whole life, then why was he frequently wound tighter than a drum?

“So, I am a total wreck and out of my head in the manager’s office, demanding they call the police, when the PA comes to life and someone – a teenaged boy, if I remember the way the voice cracked halfway through – and requests that the owner of the wild animal currently tearing apart the produce aisle please come retrieve it,” Naomi said, her voice getting faster as she related the tale. She started laughing. “And I knew he’d done it to me again. I race toward the vegetables and there he is, in stark, naked glory and brandishing two cucumbers like they’re swords.”

Steve threw his head back and laughed, the picture just too, too good. And not only was that potential blackmail material, it also went a fair way to explain why Danny was a tense guy. His mother had so much on him, he had to be on his guard at all times.

“A crowd had gathered.”

“Oh, please, please tell me someone had a camera,” Steve said.

“Was it you or Danny that I told that I was going to get all our old family photos scanned and organized on the computer?” Naomi said, innocent and totally devious about it. 

The picture was as amazing as he’d envisioned.

Naomi accidentally copied Danny in on the email. Steve enjoyed every single minute of the tirade it provoked. He really wouldn’t change Danny at all. He sent Naomi a bouquet of flowers, for the photo sharing and so much more.

H50

“He’ll be okay,” he whispered. “I just thought you should know.”

In all honesty, Steve’s gut was an acidic mess of worry as he pressed the phone to his ear mostly to keep his hand from shaking so badly, and waited for Naomi to say something. He gave her time. Fuck knew, he’d needed plenty of it himself. There’d been so much blood. Logically, he knew the kind of wounds Danny had sustained were bleeders and looked worse than they often were (it had looked _awful_ , how still and covered in blood Danny had been). His heart was simply having a time catching up.

“Are you telling me the truth, Steve?” Naomi said at last, voice hollow with her own worry, which had to be ten times that of Steve’s. 

“Yes, absolutely. He’s got a mild concussion – that’s great news – and sprained shoulder. Couple of bruised ribs and hip. He’ll be fine.” Steve ran a hand through his hair. “He’ll be fine.”

He wasn’t sure for whom he had repeated that more, Naomi or himself. He didn’t want to know how many times she’d endured news like this, with Danny or with Sean. He didn’t want to imagine her face crumpling at the list of injuries she must have heard on more than one occasion in her life. Two people in her life with important, dangerous jobs. Steve had never met Naomi, but he loved her and his heart bled, probably more than it should. The thought, though, of ending their strange relationship before he got in even deeper made his heart bleed even more. This was what it must have been like, he thought, to all the men with whom he’d served and their families. It was horrible. It was everything he had wanted in his own life.

“Are you sure you’re okay, sweetheart?” Naomi sniffled, but she sounded stronger. “I know if Danny was hurt, you were right there at his side.”

“He…” Steve swallowed, this part the worst of it all. “He managed to knock me completely clear. He saved my life.”

“That sounds about right,” Naomi said. “There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for the people he loves.” 

Steve didn’t know how to absorb that information, but then, he’d lay down his life for Danny, no hesitation, so maybe he didn’t have to. He clenched his jaw, fought against the warm, wet heat of tears. Naomi didn’t speak either, but the call didn’t end, both of them hanging on for some semblance of shared support, some way to stay strong for the person who had started off as their only link.

H50

Danny woke up when Steve was in the middle of kissing his forehead just below the bandage.

“Your mother,” Steve said and shrugged.

Plausibility was the key to any good lie.

H50

When he put all the pieces of Naomi’s end game together, Steve wasn’t as surprised as he might have been. He couldn’t even say _when_ he’d figured it out; he suspected that subconsciously he’d known for a lot longer than the sucker punch to his gut just now would have anyone else believe if they knew what was going on in his head.

Sunset was one of his favorite times of day, when the sky turned these vibrant oranges and yellows. None were enjoyed more than when he had company, though. He slid his gaze over to his companion again. Casual in dusty blue pants and a slightly darker tee, Danny looked as relaxed as he ever got. His feet were bare and his toes wiggled against the grass Steve hadn’t had time to cut recently. The scar on Danny’s forehead was still red, but fading every day. He was slouched in the chair, hands folded over his stomach and eyes on the horizon.

“What?” Danny said. “If my mom’s been so keen to send you pictures of me lately, you shouldn’t need to stare.”

“She hasn’t sent me any more pictures, Danny,” Steve said. “You just look really goo … ah, like you’re feeling better.”

Though, honestly, Naomi could have had two separate end games. He knew for certain one of them was one hundred percent about him, which meant that Danny had had a hand – intentional or not – in that part of it. He owed them both, because he had never felt so much like part of a family than he had these past few months and that meant most of the world to him. What he was less certain of was if she had figured out more about _him_ , and if that understanding also included Danny. He wasn’t sure, but there was one way to find out, if he had the stones to do it.

“I am, in fact, feeling better.” Danny turned his attention to Steve. “And I could say the same about how you look.”

“Danny, I…”

Aside from Naomi’s calls, during which he was certifiably verbose about the more delicate side of himself, Steve wasn’t a talker. He liked to keep things light on the words, heavy on the actions. He wasn’t called Smooth Dog because he could recite poetry, was what he meant. And sitting there, with Danny full-on staring at him now, he thought _fuck it_ , stood and moved in front of Danny’s chair. He leaned and kissed Danny on the forehead, exactly where he had when Danny was still in the hospital.

“My mother?” Danny said quietly when Steve pulled back.

Steve braced both hands on the arms of the chair, kissed the corner of Danny’s left eye.

“No, Danny,” he murmured. “Not your mother. Tell me if I have this wrong.”

He kissed the corner of Danny’s mouth next, gentle, cautious, and Danny told him he had it right by shifting so it was a full kiss. Steve smiled into it when Danny gripped his forearms and pushed for more, but the angle was uncomfortable. Knees suddenly weak anyway, Steve dropped to them, made a happy, embarrassing noise at the way Danny scooted forward, buffeting his legs on either side of Steve’s torso.

“Thank fuck,” Danny said, leaning his forehead against Steve’s shoulder. “Because I do not want to hear another word about my mom tonight.”

“Me either,” Steve said, with one last mental thank-you to Naomi. 

Then he smiled wide, wrapped his arms around Danny’s back, one hand snaking up to the base of Danny’s head, fingers sliding through that thick sworl of hair, and he kissed all thoughts of anything other than him right out of Danny.


End file.
